Maths Flex and low-stakes assessment
When it comes to low-stakes assessment, the consensus is that itÌýis assessment which is not pass or fail,Ìýdoes not cause added stress or anxiety for pupils (Bain, 2004) (children can make mistakes without a penalty) and aims to get children to retrieve information.ÌýThis blog looks at how Maths Flex can be used for low-stakes assessment.
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Why use low-stakes assessment in the classroom?Ìý
- It can have a powerful effect on knowledge retention (Karpicke and Aue, 2015).
- Low-stakes assessment can help teachers to identify learning gaps which need addressing (DfE, 2021).Ìý Ìý
- It should be frequent and spread across time (Roediger, 2013). Barton (2017) suggests using low-stakes assessment at the end of a lesson and then re-visiting the area about 3 weeks later.ÌýÌý
- It can help children to identify their own learning gaps and strengths.
- Richmond and Regan (2021) have suggested that in the future primary schools may move away from high-stakes assessment (i.e., formal tests) and move towards low-stakes assessment which is digitised.Ìý
What activities can be low-stakes assessment?Ìý
The DfE (2021) have suggested multiple choice quizzes or tests are the most effective methods of low-stakes assessment. They are scaffolded and support children to answer questions. Maths Flex offers a variety of different Maths Mastery question forms including multiple-choice questions.ÌýOther activities for low-stakes assessment are:
- spelling or vocabulary tests (e.g., testing children's understanding of the key Mathematical language or terms)
- asking children to label diagrams from their memory
- asking children to re-call key Maths terms or rules
- Roshenshine (2012) talks about how teachers can use questions to ascertain how well children have learnt the material.
What about Maths Flex and low-stakes assessment?
Possible ideas for using Maths Flex for low-stakes assessment are:
- The teacher could put Maths Flex questions on the screen as a warm-up and children could discuss the answers in pairs before answering.
- The teacher could do the same as the above but get the children to write the answers on mini-whiteboards.
- The teacher could finish the lesson with children completing the nugget that they were taught about that day on Maths Flex (on tablets)Ìý.
- Maths Flex questions could be answered in small groups. This approach encourages a high-level of discussion about Maths and supports children with their Maths reasoning skills.
In summary, there are lots of ways that Maths Flex provides pupils with low-stakes assessment.
We’d love to hear your ideas and find out about what has worked best in your class! Let us know by emailing ukschools.customersuccess@pearson.com
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References:
Bain, Ken (2004).ÌýWhat the Best College Professors Do. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Barton, 2017.ÌýLow Stakes Assessments: TES Maths Resource of the Week - Mr Barton Maths Blog. [online] Mr Barton Maths Blog. Available at: <http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/low-stakes-assessments-tes-maths-resource-of-the-week>Ìý[Accessed 2 February 2022].
DfE, 2021. [online] Assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. [Accessed 2 February 2022].
Karpicke, J.D. and Aue, W.R., 2015. The testing effect is alive and well with complex materials.ÌýEducational
Psychology Review,Ìý27(2), pp.317-326.
Richmond and Regan, 2021. [online] Edsk.org. Available at: <https://www.edsk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/EDSK-Making-progress.pdf> [Accessed 28 January 2022].
Roediger III, Henry L. (2013).Ìý"Applying Cognitive Psychology to Education:
Translational Educational Science"ÌýPsychological
Science in the Public Interest.Ìý14(1) 1-3.
Rosenshine, B., 2012. Principles of instruction: Research-based strategies that all teachers should know. American educator, 36(1), p.12.